NLL

USA Hopeful Westervelt Moved in Friday Flurry

One of the top American players in the National Lacrosse League
was among the shuffle in a pair of Friday trades, as Philadelphia,
Chicago and Minnesota moved a total of three players and six draft
picks.

The Wings were involved in both swaps, sending Drew Westervelt
and a fourth round selection in Monday's draft to the Mammoth and
first-round selections in the 2015 and 2017 drafts to the Swarm. In
exchange, they received Swarm goaltender Evan Kirk and transition
player Ryan Hotaling, two second-round selections in Monday's draft
and a first-round pick in 2015 from the Mammoth.

Westervelt, who recently made the 52-man training roster for
Team USA, has scored 30 or more goals in four of the past five
seasons for Philadelphia, racking up 164 goals and 138 assists in
his six-year career.

"Drew's a big, dominant, and strong offensive force in the NLL,"
said Mammoth president and general manager Steve Govett. "He has
adapted extremely well to the indoor game, and will have a major
impact on our offense."

Hotaling is a fourth-year professional from Syracuse, N.Y. and
scooped 23 loose balls to go with one goal for the Mammoth this
past season.

Kirk had a 7-7 career record with the Swarm and a 12.08
goals-against average and stopped 77% of the shots he saw. He was
the No. 6 selection in the 2011 draft after his career at Hobart
College and made the All-Rookie team that season.

"We really appreciate what Evan brought to the Swarm during his
two seasons on the team. He was great both on and off the field and
he will be missed," Swarm Owner and Governor John Arlotta said. "We
could not have done this without the experience that Tyler Carlson
has now accumulated along with the development that Zach Higgins
has shown in the offseason. Although this was a difficult decision,
we feel we had three goalies who can play in the NLL, and this
gives all of them a chance to do so while at the same time
continuing to position us to build a team that can sustain
excellence over a long period of time."